This book is a survey and critique of the major theories of financial crises. The first edition built a model of crisis from an analysis of postwar financial crises in the US through the mid-1980s. The second edition continues the story from 1985 and covers the stock market crash of 1987, the collapse of the Savings and Loan industry, the severe problems of US commercial banks, and the increasing risks posed by junk bonds. A new chapter analyses the causes of increasing financial instability in the 1980s. The book's extensive charts and tables are fully revised and updated to present the latest evidence. The first edition has gained wide interest as a supplemental text.